


I Promise

by KibaSin



Series: Past Time [4]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Naruto
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-18
Packaged: 2017-12-20 14:05:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/888137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaSin/pseuds/KibaSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Returning from the chuunin exams after being defeated by Naruto, can Gaara express his feelings to the only one who's ever truly loved him? Or will he think that he should only love himself forevermore?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Promise

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own any material belonging to the creators of Naruto or Inuyasha.

 **Pairing:** Gaara/Kagome

 **Anime:**  Naruto/Inuyasha

* * *

**Note:** This is really super old. It is, in fact, the first ever one-shot I wrote using the Naruto anime.

* * *

_I promised myself. I promised that'd I'd return, no matter how hurt I became… though I doubted anyone would ever touch me. I was proved wrong when I met Rock Lee, and even more so now… I still promised, though, and I shall keep that promise. I will find out if she truly loves me, or if I'm just a monster to her like everyone else._

 

**FLASHBACK**

"Temari!"

The team of three turned, a twelve-year-old girl running toward them through the crowd of people inside their village. She was smiling, but they could tell there was sadness beneath that smiling face. After all, Temari had once protected the girl from her own father when he was yelling at her, throwing sand into the air and hissing that she'd never make a good shinobi, before slamming her into a wall. Temari had become her role model, and she had recently turned her attention to Gaara, watching him as the sand moved and did whatever he wished. Now the girl was rushing toward them, the sand moving around her feet as if it were pushing other people out of the way, before it pushed her forward and she landed in front of them.

Temari smiled, watching as a small sand castle built itself into the girl's hand, before it crumbled to pieces. She watched as she tried again, the castle crumbling once more, before there was a burst in her chakra, the castle suddenly becoming sandstone within her hands, and the girl skipped from foot to foot in happiness. "Wow, where'd you learn that, Kagome?" she asked.

Kagome turned her eyes away, "I… Um, I don't know."

Temari turned her eyes to Gaara, watching the silent boy as his eyes narrowed, probably from the burst of chakra that Kagome had given off. It wasn't surprising, though, Gaara loved to fight those with lots of power so that he could relish in their blood afterward. However, she didn't care what Gaara wanted, she would fight against him should he or his demon ever go after Kagome. She was like the sister she never had. "That's fine, Kagome. I'm sure you'll know sooner or later," she said.

"I don't know how I did it," Kagome said. She glanced to Gaara, watching the red haired boy for a moment, before shifting her eyes back to Temari. "I just sort of asked the sand to move… and… and it happened. I don't know why, but for a moment I felt like I could do anything—or I could ask it anything that it was able to do and it would have done it."

Her eyes held such brightness, and Gaara turned his eyes away from it, watching as she turned her eyes back to the sand. Her chakra spiked again and he held himself in place, watching as she blew at the small castle she'd created, the pieces of sand falling away from the castle piece by piece, before they began swirling around Temari before they fell away. He heard her sigh, and her disappointment at the fact that the sand didn't do as she completely wanted it to.

"Hey," Kankurou said, "You're pretty good!"

"Oh," Kagome blinked, "thank you." She placed her hands behind her back, leaning forward a little. "I heard that you were going off on a mission, Temari. I wanted to wish you all farewell before you went." She saw their eyes drift to the silent shinobi, and smiled, "Even Gaara!"

She was wishing him farewell?  _Why,_  Gaara thought, his eyes shifting back to her?  _What reason would she have to do such a thing?_  Everyone had always shunned him because of the sand demon placed inside of him when he was young. It took over his body whenever he fell unconscious, which was why he hadn't spelt in years, the demon eating away at a piece of his mind each time. It was  _odd_  to have someone who constantly asked him how his day had been, his favorite things, how he managed to control the sand so easily, and was always wishing him farewell whenever he left the village limits. It was…  _almost_  annoying. Almost.

Kankurou shook his head, hearing the slight fluttering of her voice when she mentioned Gaara's name. The girl needed to get over the crush that she'd formed for Gaara, or the kid was going to get hurt. "That's very nice of you," he said, smiling.

Kagome's eyes lowered, "I also wanted to tell you that my squad is going to go on their own mission tomorrow, Temari."

"Really?" Temari blinked. Kagome's team consisted of three sand shinobi, two girls and one boy. "I'm sure you'll do great, Kagome. However, we must go now. We'll only be gone for a couple of days knowing the way Gaara works."

Kagome smiled, "It will take us longer, but I promise to come back in one piece, Temari. I'm even going to take some of the sand with me in case I can't get myself out of anything. Rai-sensei said that it would be for the best since it's the only thing I've nearly mastered."

Temari placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kagome. I'm sure that sooner or later you'll find something else you're good at."

Kagome smiled, nodding.

Gaara turned his head, before saying, "Lets go." He glanced quickly to the twelve-year-old, watching as she waved, before the sand around her feet suddenly shifted, lifting her and pulling her back toward the village. His eyes narrowed once more at her suddenly interest in the sand and wondered why it was the only thing she could actually do. Why was it that the only jutsu she could do was sand manipulation?

**END FLASHBACK**

_I remember her eyes… the way she continued to gaze at me. I wonder if that is love, for no one has ever given me such an emotion. Perhaps she is merely trying to control the demon inside of me, though, because she's so obsessed with her jutsu. Within the time that she left and the time she returned her jutsu had gotten much better, her stance became stronger, her chakra increased, but her eyes never changed. No… but I fear that they might…_

**FLASHBACK**

"I already told you Kankurou," Temari growled, "I'm not leaving until Kagome comes back. She said that she'd be back by today! She'll be back. She never lies."

"Well, this is boring," he rolled his eyes. "I still don't understand why you drug us all down here just to wait for some girl. Have you actually watched her train, Temari? The girl can't get a single thing right, and she continues to constantly ignore the fact that those around her," he cast a small glance at Gaara, "might not be interested in her affections.

"Yes, it is quite annoying," Gaara, said. They turned to him in surprise at the fact that he'd agreed with Kankurou, before turning back to the path before them. The wind picked up suddenly, before they saw a jounin off in the distance, three smaller forms walking in front of them. The sand picked up off the ground, blowing around them before one of the figures seemed to disappear… and suddenly it burst close to Temari, Kagome standing there, no longer smiling.

"Kagome!" they heard from the distance, "THAT'S NOT FAIR! WHEN I ASKED YOU FOR A RACE I DIDN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO PULL A CHEAP TRICK LIKE THAT!"

She snorted, turning her eyes toward the others in the distance. The wind seemed to carry her voice as she said, "You never said there were any rules when you issued the challenge. Perhaps you will learn to be more precise the next time, Seiichi."

"YOU KNOW I MEANT THERE WERE RULES, AND YOU KNOW IT, KAGOME! IT'S NOT FAIR THAT YOU KEEP USING THAT BLASTED TRICK AGAINST ME!"

"What's the point of having something I can do and not use it?" Kagome shook her head, before turning to Temari. "Konnichiwa, Temari."

"K-Kagome," Temari blinked. The girl looked the same, but she was standing straighter, and there was a small scratch across her cheek. She seemed to have no other wounds, and she asked, "Did everything go as planned, Kagome?"

"Yes," Kagome nodded. She smiled suddenly, the emotion almost looking fake upon her face. "We ran into a few jounin during the way but they were no match for us." Her smile brightened, "It was too bad they caught us while we were still inside the sand region. They might have stood a chance otherwise."

 _She's changed. What happened during their mission that she suddenly grew up?_  Gaara wondered. He turned his face away, watching the others come into view, before Rai yelled out that Kagome's training began early the next morning, to which her hand merely waved into the air. From the look of the others, as they stared at Kagome, something had happened. Something that would probably never be mentioned, though he wished to know what it was for some odd reason; it felt almost like when he thought his uncle actually cared for him. That, of course, was before the bastard came after him upon the orders of his father, and he killed him.

"You killed them, huh?" Kankurou asked. He watched Gaara seemed to tense at the thought, obviously wishing to use his logic to make himself feel human once more. Gaara was a demon; exactly what their father had tried to make him by placing the sand demon inside his body.

Kagome's eyes suddenly changed, her body tensing. "No! Rai-sensei snapped at me afterward, but I didn't kill them! I-I couldn't do it. I wasn't able to… and I just couldn't bring myself to spill anyone elses blood. Maybe if I had to, but they went running before I could do anything more than breaking a few bones, twisting a few limbs." Her eyes turned downward, a tear streaking down her face. "I'm such a terrible shinobi."

Temari's hand settled upon Kagome's shoulder, before she smiled herself. "Don't worry about it, Kagome. You shouldn't have to kill if you don't have to. Its not that you're a bad shinobi, its that you have a good heart."

"Thank you, Temari," Kagome smiled. Her stance changed back to the one she'd had when she returned to the village, before she blinked. Her eyes seemed to change a little, flickering, before Gaara felt the spike in her chakra once more. The girl had never been able to control the chakra she controlled, and that was why she couldn't control the sand the way she had wanted to when she first began asking him how he'd done it, he hadn't answered, deeming the questions annoying. "I've been practicing a lot, and I don't think that I'll need to try so hard to keep up with the others anymore."

"That's wonderful, but you should always remember to try your best, Kagome," Temari reminded her. She watched as the girl turned to Gaara, walking toward him, and she blinked in surprise. She'd always noticed the blushes and small giggles that Kagome would give whenever Gaara spoke to her, and how she was always casting small glances toward him, but she'd never seen Kagome outright approach her brother. Even Kankurou seemed to be surprised when Kagome greeted Gaara, asking him if he'd once again made it back without any marks since his sand protected him so well.

"I would not be wounded so easily," Gaara said. His green eyes bore into her own, and he noticed that that girly happiness was still within them when he spoke. He had to wonder if she truly saw him as Gaara of the Desert, or as the monster experiment of his father. It wouldn't surprise him if she did, since everyone and everything was frightened of him because of his unstableness as his father always mentioned.

"That's true. The sand protects you after all. Its almost like it loves you," she laughed. Gaara turned his eyes toward her, wondering if what she said was true. No one had ever loved him. No one. Was it that the sand loved him and his demon side? Was that why it protected him of its own accord, instead of him having to use a jutsu similar to hers in order to control it?

**END FLASHBACK**

_She asked me for friendship, though I know she wants more from me. No one had ever wished to become my friend, or be near me unless they had to be. The strange feeling that rushes through me while thinking of her is unnatural for me. Could it be that I'm beginning to feel the same? Is that why I promised her I'd return, no matter what? Is that why I made myself promise her…?_

**FLASHBACK**

She sat beside him outside the village; one of her legs placed underneath her other while her knee was bent upward toward the air. Her hands were placed upon her knee, before she turned her eyes toward him. Gaara ignored her for the moment, his mind of his A-rank mission that he and his squad were going to be sent on. However, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye when he heard her say, "I heard from Temari that you were going to go to the chuunin exams in Konoha, Gaara."

"Does that make it your business?" he asked. He remained bored, before he watched her frown. The girl wrapped her arms around her knees, before she turned her attention completely toward him. However, he noticed that her headband was held loosely in her hand before she dropped it into the sand, suddenly twisting her fingers before the sand moved to make itself into the same shape as her headband, before she seemed to become bored.

"…No, I guess not," Kagome, replied. "I just wanted to tell you that I'd wait until you return. I-I wanted to… um…" she pulled out a red cloth, "give you this before you left. It-it will remind you that there's someone waiting for you at home so that you have something to look forward to when you return back to the village. I know it might not seem like much to you, Gaara, but it's a symbol of my friendship and I would be happy to share it with you if you'll let me." She held the cloth out to him, a dark blush staining her cheeks, before she lowered her eyes, gazing up at him from the top of her eyes.

He eyed the piece of cloth, before asking, "What do you expect me to do with this?"

"You-you don't need to do anything with it, Gaara!" she gulped. "I just want you to keep it. You don't have to wear it or anything, or you could simply toss it if you don't want to keep it… I guess." Her eyes became sad. "This was my mother's. She-she wasn't able to handle the birthing and died when I was born. It's the only thing I have now living with my father… though I barely call him thus."

Gaara watched as she stood, before she leaned over to grab her headband. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Gaara, forgive me," he heard. However he turned his eyes until he sensed she was completely gone, before turning his eyes to the thin piece of cloth that she'd left in the sand, his name written above it. He didn't know why, but he grabbed the piece of cloth, and gently ran his fingers over it, before standing. The cloth hung from his fingers before he tucked it into his clothing.

Gaara shifted his body before he began walking toward the village once more. Almost as soon as he entered he saw Temari holding Kagome by the front of her shirt, bringing the girl closer to her. He watched the girl struggle a little, obviously wondering why Temari was handling her in such a way, but he understood when he heard his sister begin to speak. He understood all too well.

"Kagome, what do you think you're doing?"

"I-I was only trying to gain Gaara's friendship!" Kagome hissed. "I-I  **love**  Gaara, but I know that he would never feel the same for me. I have to accept his friendship if not anything else."

"Kagome," Temari snapped. "Gaara has never felt love, or any other emotion before! He'll never love you, and I doubt if he will ever give you his friendship, since he's made a vow to never get close to anyone else since he killed our uncle. He, or his demon, will rip you apart before you can say anything and then what? What will you do when the person you've wrongfully fallen in love with cuts you down?"

"I trust Gaara to do the right thing," Kagome snapped. Her hand suddenly came up her chest and knocked Temari's hand away from her, her grasp loosening before she stepped backward. "I trust Gaara and I trust his demon. I believe that if he would truly love someone then he would not harm that person. I believe that his demon wouldn't hurt that person either! I don't care what Gaara is as long as he is himself, Temari!"

"I want to hear you say that when he pulls a sand coffin on you and then crushes you with his sand burial attack," Temari snarled. "Then I want to hear about how much you love him."

"I will love Gaara in this life and the next!"

"You don't love anyone, Kagome!" Temari's fist clenched. "You just believe you do! That father of yours has sucked the love from your body and now you're trying to obtain it by loving those around you, even though it's only a false love. That's why you keep getting stronger each time you come back from a mission, isn't it? That stupid Rai has been ordered by your father to train you until you drop, which is why you chose to go after Gaara's sand techniques. You saw the way it protected him and you want it to protect you!"

"You're wrong, Temari!"

There was a crack in the air, before Kagome was suddenly sprawled on the ground. She glanced up to find Temari standing over her, before she suddenly shrank away. Her fear caused a reaction from the boy standing not far away, and for some reason the sand around him suddenly jumped into action, hiding the girl from Temari's sight before moving her to another place. Gaara watched as Temari turned her eyes toward him, and saw them narrow, obviously trying to figure out whether it was him or Kagome that controlled the sand at that moment.

Once he found her again she wished him farewell and he did not see her until the day he left. She'd smiled when she noticed that the cloth she'd given him was wrapped around his arm, but she stayed in the shadows until they left, Gaara feeling her eyes watching him every step of the way.

_I promise to return… I know not why, but I promise to return…_

**END FLASHBACK**

"I will not lose," he whispered. "I promised, and I will not give up that promise for someone like you." These were his last words as the nine-tailed fox turned his attention toward him. The sand jumped to life, but the fox boy was faster, his fist slamming against his forehead, and before Gaara knew it, they were running away from Konoha, returning to their village.

After a few days they and their sensei stumbled back into the village, all of them worse for wear after meeting the ones that had stood a chance of beating them. It was almost shameful that all three of children the Kazekage had sired losing to pitiful genin not even more than a year into their training before they went to the chuunin exams. They'd failed their mission, yes, but they were proud to say that even though that was true they had returned to the village in mostly one piece.

Gaara gripped his arm, the cloth underneath his fingers reminding him that he'd promised to return. He'd returned. His chakra was extremely low, and he coughed, shaking off the need for sleep. He would not sleep, no. The demon inside his body took over then and he would not allow that to happen. Not now.

"Gaara! Temari! Kankurou, you've returned!" came a voice. They turned their eyes to find the sand twisting and creating designs for the girl not far off. She hadn't approached them, but was standing off to the side, the sand turning to stone as she moved forward a few steps. "I was beginning to wonder when you were going to return." She smiled upon seeing the cloth around Gaara's arm, before looking toward the others.

"Yeah," Kankurou snorted, "but we got our butts kicked."

Kagome shook her head, "I can see that."

Should he…? No, no, she was probably like all the others. She merely wanted to control him, for him to do, as she wanted. Why did his heart, or what he believed to be his heart, tell him otherwise? Why did he suddenly feel this, when he'd never felt anything of the sort in years? Why…?

"We'll be fine, though," Temari said. "We just need to heal for a few days, and we should be back in shape to begin training once more."

Kagome ignored her. She turned her attention to the boy with rings of black around his green eyes, his red hair bright in the sunlight, while his brown clothing seemed dull against his lightly tanned skin. She'd made her decision, and she stepped toward the older shinobi, before biting the inside of her lip. "I'm happy to see you've returned safely, Gaara. I-I-I…"

"Hm?" passed from his lips.

"I know," was the beginning of the end for her, and Temari turned her eyes away from the sight, "that you might not care, or you might even shun me but-but I… Gaara, I-I  _really_  like you. I-I think I love you." Temari watched as the girl lowered her eyes, poking her fingers together as she said this. She'd heard Gaara muttering about a promise, but she never expected Gaara to stumble toward the twelve-year-old.

"How do I know you're not lying," Gaara asked?

Kagome's eyes rose to meet his. "I wouldn't lie, Gaara! I wouldn't, I swear! I don't have anyway for you to prove that I actually love you, but I… I wish that you'd consider my feelings. They might not mean that much to you, but I know what its like to have my heart broken and… and I feel that you wouldn't break my heart, Gaara. I believe that is why I've fallen in love with the sand the way I have…"

Temari closed her eyes, not wishing to see the girl suddenly ripped apart. What she didn't expect was to hear Gaara whisper that he would consider her feelings as long as she never lied to him, and accepted him the way he was. Temari lifted her eyes to watch as Kagome's smile brightened completely once again, before she flung her arms around Gaara's neck, and she watched as the demon experiment flinched a bit. However, she watched as Kagome went to kiss Gaara's cheek, only for the boy to shift his head and their lips to connect.

She was amazed that Gaara was expressing his feelings in such a way, and she knew that it was the beginning of anew for Kagome. Something told her that they'd be happy, though. At least happy enough to stay together. And to think it was all because of a promise Gaara had made to himself… or so she believed now.

_\--Fin_


End file.
